On November 27, Professor Michael Hendricks published two articles in the Journal of Underrepresented and Minority Progress’s Special Issue on “Hispanics in Higher Education.” The Special Issue “aims to explore the diverse experiences of the Hispanic/Latino population of the United States in higher education.”
The first article, “Latinx College Students in a PWI: Perceptions of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEA), Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction, and Access to Mentorship,” shows that Latinx and first-generation college students reported lower perceptions of IDEA and a lower sense of basic psychological needs satisfaction than their white and non-first-generation peers. Hendricks and his co-authors provide practical and policy implications for higher education administrators, faculty, and staff when working with Latinx and first-generation students. Their results indicate the urgent need to respond to basic psychological needs among Latinx students and first-generation college students through policy-making and prioritizing student events to support Latinx students’ academic and social activities.
Hendricks’s co-authors are Drs. Chang Su-Russell (Department of Family and Consumer Sciences) and Jordan Arellanes (Department of Psychology).
Hendricks took the lead on the second article, “Exploring the Pandemic’s Impacts on Latinx Students’ Learning.” The study underscores their concerns regarding access to essential educational resources, especially online learning tools, mental health support, and building connections with peers and the campus community. The study’s findings highlight the importance of understanding the Latinx student experience to inform educational policies and pedagogical practices, particularly in the context of post-pandemic online and remote learning, aiming to address their unique challenges effectively.
Hendricks’s co-authors again are Su-Russell and Arellanes. This article also includes two graduate student co-authors: Nur Moon, a previous master’s student in the department who is pursuing a Ph.D. in political science at the University of Connecticut and Shania Vasquez, a former master’s student in the Department of Psychology.
